Eldorado leader nabbed
Community members try to block four teachers from entering school premises
Chaos erupted in Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, yesterday when police arrested a community leader after he and other community members tried to block the gates to the Klipspruit West Secondary School.
Anthony Williams‚ community leader and member of the Patriots of Equality‚ was shoved into the police van after he and some community members said that four teachers would not be allowed into the school.
The community members have apparently accused the teachers of racism‚ abuse and meting out corporal punishment.
Earlier‚ Williams launched a scathing attack on MEC for education Panyaza Lesufi‚ accusing him of discrimination.
“We’ve been asking him to sit with us before. He goes around when it’s a white school and wants to sort them out‚ why doesn’t he do that with us? He must exercise his powers everywhere the same way. When he acts he must act decisively and equally‚” said Williams.
Yesterday‚ parents were invigilating examinations at the school‚ which Williams described as normal and necessary.
“The school is fine‚ the kids are allowed to go to class. The learners are calm and all is going well. It wasn’t violent. We barred four teachers from coming into the school‚” Williams said.
He said the issue was not racial. Among their grievances, the community said it is dissatisfied over the disbandment of the School Governing Body (SGB) by the education department and a lack of engagement with the community by the department.
The community leader said the ANC members who came and protested outside the school in the early morning against parents invigilating the examination did not communicate with them.
Acting Gauteng education MEC Jacob Mamabolo is expected to visit the Klipspruit school to meet with teachers and the community to resolve the matter.
Jacky Mthombeni‚ general secretary of the Patriots of Equality‚ said the situation was traumatising the learners.
On Tuesday, the education department said it was concerned over the unnecessary and counterproductive disruptions of teaching and learning at the school. At least 11 educators did not report for duty on Tuesday.